COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Haverford College women's basketball team saw its five-game Centennial Conference winning streak come to an end Thursday night at Ursinus. Ironically, that five-game stretch - which vaulted the Fords up the conference ranks - started with a 52-50 win inside the Gooding '84 Arena against these same Bears. Tonight's contest again went to the home team, a 55-37 victory for Ursinus.
Sierra Berkel and Olivia Walsh each scored 14 points in the conference contest to lead Haverford (13-7, 8-5 CC). Berkel finished with a double-double as she also pulled down a game-best 12 rebounds. The host Bears (9-10, 8-5 CC) got at least eight points from each of their starters, including Jessica Porada's team-high 12-point night. Elana Roadcloud just missed a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds, while Alyssa Polimeni reversed those totals on her score line with 11 points and nine rebounds.
A strong Ursinus defense got the Bears off to a quick start. The Fords were tied at four-all in the opening minutes with a pair of baskets down in the paint from Walsh and Berkel. Both defenses put the clamps on the opposition for much of the opening quarter. Although the Fords did not score another point from the field until Walsh's second basket of the night with just under two minutes left in the quarter, Haverford found itself trailing by just two points. However, the Bears carried an 11-6 edge into the second quarter after Polimeni knocked down a triple following three offensive rebounds during the Bears' next possession.
The host Bears doubled down even harder before the half and used a 14-3 second quarter advantage to carry a 25-9 lead into the locker room. Haverford's defense limited Ursinus to less than 34 percent shooting on the night. Nevertheless, the Bears forced the Fords into 16 turnovers over the course of the game. Polimeni headed those efforts with three steals.
That second quarter deficit proved too large a hole to climb out of in the second half. Haverford battled nearly basket-for-basket with Ursinus in the third quarter and held a 13-11 advantage during the final 10 minutes. In the end, the damage had been done in the 55-37 final score.
Women's basketball will look to start a new winning streak when it returns to action on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip against Gettysburg. In a key stretch of upcoming games, the Fords will battle the top three teams in the conference standings over the next week. Fortunately for the Fords, two of those three Centennial clashes will be on their home floor. The upcoming home dates include Saturday's contest with the third-place bullets, which is a scheduled doubleheader with the men's game to follow at 3 p.m.